Volkswagen wants Karmann

VW wants to buy Karmann Just like all the other specialist coachbuilders out there – Zagato, Pininfarina, etc – life has not been a bed of roses for a long time for Karmann. Once a great way for wealthy owners to ‘Customise’ their cars, the specialist coachbuilders have relied more and more on relationships with big car makers to survive. None more so than Karmann, whose hopes for survival rested on VW divvying up an order for electric cars.

Mercedes E-class Cabriolet at Detroit motor show 2010

Here's our first look at the new Mercedes E-class Cabriolet, unveiled at the 2010 Detroit Auto show. It's the fourth addition to the E-class range, and as with the latest E-class Coupe, the new drop-top replaces the old CLK. The new E-class Cabriolet shuns a hard-top and continues to favour the more traditional folding fabric arrangement - the hood can be opened or closed in 20 seconds at speeds of up to 25mph.

Ford begins Daventry site transformation

FORD IS to invest millions of pounds in a new, state-of-the-art training facility on its existing site in Daventry, Northamptonshire, as part of a wider forward-looking programme. The new site will merge the capabilities of two existing Ford colleges – the Technical Training Centre located separately at Daventry, and the Henry Ford College in Loughborough, which provides training for technicians, sales staff and management throughout Ford’s national dealer network. Scheduled to open next year, the brand-new centre will replace the existing facilities to become a centre of excellence for training across the country.